They Said a Storm Was Coming
by MothBallz
Summary: A calmer and more level-headed Ichigo takes on the coming storm, intent on living up to his name and protecting those he holds precious. He will not hesitate and he will not back down. (Stronger Ichigo) (Retelling of canon with varying differences) (Unknown Pairing)
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** For those of you who follow what I do and what not, you're probably wondering why I'm starting yet another fic when I still got two that are going strong and a handful of others that have become forgotten. Well….it's cuz I can haha.

I figure I've done enough stories with Naruto as the main character for now and so I wanna branch out and try out some different characters. I recently began to rewatch a bunch of old anime series (Samurai Champloo, Cowboy Bepop, Ruroni Kenshin) and Bleach caught my eye once again. Going from the beginning I was reminded why I was so into the series. There was tension, plot, comedy, the characters were all memorable, and the fight scenes….god damn the fight scenes. Honestly Bleach has some of the best fight scenes in all of anime, in my opinion. I'm talking Ichigo vs. Kenpachi, Soifon vs. Yoruichi, and the height of the first arc, Ichigo vs. Byakuya.

Honestly though it was after that, that the series slowly began to go downhill. It picked up a bit with the Fake Karuka arc and the peak was Ichigo and Aizen demolishing that whole area. I firmly believe the series should have ended there. Maybe a nice epilogue of Ichigo finally dying and being welcomed back to Soul Society as a Captain or something. Nice little bow no? But nope, we got the whole Fullbring, Ichigo isn't just a Vizard but half something else (didn't wanna spoil), and all this other shit.

Well not this story! I shall right the wrongs (wrongs in my mind)! This won't be an epic length story like my previous endeavors, and will be sticking pretty damn close to canon (event wise). To be honest there will really only be a small handful of changes, but those changes will bear some interesting diversions later.

Notable changes; Ichigo will still be canon to those he doesn't know but much like he was as a kid when around trusted friends and family. He will be a little more level-headed. Zangetsu IS his Zanpaktou (for those of you who know what I mean), in fact anything beyond the battle with Aizen bears nothing on this story. None of that shit happens, doesn't exist!

Pairing…well I was leaning towards Yoruichi, Nel, MAYBE Orihime, and maybe even Tatsuki. Tatsuki gets shirked quite often which sucks cuz her and Ichigo did grow up together and remained friends through everything.

No this isn't a harem. It's a pick one deal. Had enough harems and dealing with the backlash of those for the moment. Will probably write a harem story for Ichigo later but that shall not be this fic.

Also some of you know I like to title my fics after songs I like. This fic is titled after the song by Jamie's Elsewhere (Me no own) which I think fits Ichigo pretty nicely. Not to a T but pretty close.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or it's characters. Just some some dude who is using them to entertain myself and others.

Well that's a long AN…..ONTO THE STORY!

* * *

"My name is Rukia Kuchiki."

"Nice to meet you Rukia. I'm Ichigo Kurosaki."

Where usually these two sentences would merely signify the meeting of two people the current situation couldn't be further from the usual.

The first voice, Rukia, was someone who looked to be no older than 16 or 17 due to her short stature and petite build. What was odd about her appearance was not only the black robes she donned but the blood that flowed from a massive bite wound in her shoulder. What was even stranger was that she was holding a katana aimed straight at the second voice's lower abdomen.

Said voice belonged to a young man who stood at an imposing five foot nine inches. His height and rather muscled build would lead most to believe that the orange haired young man was somewhere in his late teens. However he was in actuality only 15. What was odd about the teen was not only his bright and spiky orange hair but the fact that instead of showing any fear at having a razor sharp katana aimed at him he instead held the blade in one of his hands, almost as if he were guiding it pierce him.

Not only seconds later that's exactly what he did, pulling the blade of the katana so that it ran him through.

* * *

The hours prior to this were, in all honesty, a very normal day…at least as normal as it got for Ichigo.

He had been woken up by his "alarm clock", better known as his own father bursting into his room and attempting to drop kick him. After years of this though Ichigo had grown accustomed to the actions of his oddball father and so had nonchalantly tossed said man out of his bedroom window.

Breakfast was a normal affair as well, his little sister Yuzu preparing the morning meal with her customary warm smile. His other little sister and Yuzu's fraternal twin, Karin, merely greeted him with a grunt. His father, Isshin, joined the rest of the family at the table only a few short minutes later looking like he hadn't just been tossed out of a second story window.

For all intents and purposes the Kurosaki household seemed to be like any other family happily enjoying a meal before getting ready for the day's events; Ichigo walking his two little sisters to school while on the way to his own and Isshin preparing for his day of work at the family clinic.

The only thing that would strike most as odd or out of the ordinary was the sight of Ichigo scaring off the neighborhood punks from a sidewalk grave and proceeding to talk to the air. However for Ichigo this was anything but odd, it merely being a normal part of his life. It had been that way since as far back as he could remember after all. For as far back as he could recall he had the strange gift of being able to talk with the spirits of the dead who had yet to pass on to whatever the afterlife entailed.

Most of the time he would pay them no mind but there were a few ghosts that had sought him out or that he had found himself striking up a conversation with. The fact that he would often help his father in their family clinic meant that he found himself helping his fair share of spirits come to terms with their own demise.

The spirit in front of him however was a bit of a different case. In life she had been your average young girl. Unfortunately she had been playing a little too close to the street and had been hit by a driver who had not been paying attention to the road and didn't see her.

Ichigo had a soft spot for her as she was about the age of his own little sisters and his big brother complex screamed at him to help her out in any way he could. As such he had taken to visiting her when he could and keeping her company, going so far as to make sure that the spot where she had died had at least one flower in a vase he had bought with his own money.

The rest of the day consisted of the usual; going to school, hanging out with friends, and then heading home with his little sisters in tow.

After that was when it got weird.

The orange haired teen had been lying in his bed relaxing after another long day of dealing with his father, school, and other typical teenage things when an ebony haired girl garbed in all black robes and carrying a katana literally phased through his wall.

After a rather interesting exchange between the two Ichigo was told of the existence of, not only spirits, but of beings known as Shinigami, whose duty was to help the spirits of the dearly departed safely cross over into the afterlife. However the, somewhat arrogantly named, God's of Death were also tasked with slaying creatures known as Hollows, spirits of those so corrupt that their spirits had twisted themselves into beastly forms that no longer resembled their former selves.

The petite girl then told him that she had been on the tail of one such creature which is why she had found herself in his bedroom.

Before they could converse much more a guttural roar rang throughout the Kurosaki household which was then followed by a tremor and screams of terror. Ichigo immediately recognized the screams as coming from Karin and had thusly ignored the calls of the Shinigami and ran downstairs to find his dark haired little sister in the clutches of a creature easily the size of their home.

The size and beastly nature of the creature did not register in his mind, only the fact that his sister was in danger was at the forefront of his mind. His brotherly instincts kicking Ichigo grabbed the closest item at hand, a stool, and ran full speed at the beast, intent on showing it why you didn't mess with the Kurosaki family.

Before he could do that though the short Shinigami intervened and slammed her body into his much larger frame, sending him tumbling to the floor in an undignified mess of limbs. Ichigo looked up in anger and was ready to chew out the supposed God of Death for getting in his way when he saw said robed girl draw her katana in an attempt to stop the jaws of the beast from taking a chunk of flesh out of her shoulder.

She succeeded in that endeavor…somewhat.

While she still had her shoulder attached to her body the beast's teeth had managed to stab into the area surrounding the joint, gouging trenches in her flesh that quickly filled with the red liquid of life.

To her credit Rukia had merely let out a low grunt in acknowledgement of the pain where many would instead have been screaming their throats raw or may have even blacked out from the loss of blood.

Seemingly satisfied with gravely wounding the Shinigami the Hollow saw fit to preoccupy itself with its current prey, giving Ichigo the room to rush to Rukia's side. A short chat latter wherein Rukia explained that by impaling himself with her katana she would be able to temporarily give the strawberry haired teen the power to slay the Hollow and rescue his sister saw the two at the current time.

Having the power, even temporarily, to save his family had been all the incentive Ichigo needed. He had long ago promised himself that he would go to any length to keep his family safe, regardless of the consequences that would fall upon him. Some would question the logic behind the whole "getting stabbed by a sword gives you powers" thing but at this point Ichigo really couldn't argue. Here he was talking to a katana wielding shortie who called herself a Shinigami and behind him stood a huge beast with a porcelain white mask about to have his sister for a midnight snack. Yeah logic had been tossed out the window as far as Ichigo was concerned.

That in mind Ichigo went ahead with the ordeal and pulled the sword towards him, but instead of the expected shower of blood a bright column of blue tinted light erupted from where Ichigo stood. The pillar of bright light enveloped the whole area and blinded any of those unlucky enough to be caught in its blinding luminescence.

Laying on the floor now stripped of her katana, her robes once a pitch black now a pure white, Rukia stared in shock at the massive show of power which seemed to come just shy of a seated officer's power, coming ever closer to her own level of power which – while nowhere near a Lieutenant's or Captain's level – was nothing to scoff at.

_How is this possible? There's no way some mortal not even out of puberty yet should be capable of such power. I meant to only give him a fragment of my power and here he's taken all of it and somehow mixed it with his own,_ Rukia's mind raced.

When the light show finally came to an end Rukia was even more shocked at what said pillar had been hiding.

Where once there stood a rather tall teen clad in pajamas now stood said teen garbed in the traditional black shihakusho befitting a trained Shinigami and a huge blade as long as he was tall and almost as wide with an almost out of place standard tsuka (handle) sheathed on his back. A golden colored tassel dangled from the kashira (buttcap).

The Hollow took notice of Ichigo's massive leap in power and focused it's predatory gaze on the teen, a hungry grin stretching across the porcelain white mask that covered its face. In its absent minded daze the beast began to lumber over to the newly minted Shinigami, intent on filling its stomach with the Reiatsu that now bathed the surrounding area. That same hunger would prove to be its downfall as it did not take notice of Ichigo hefting the massive blade from his back. It only realized that the strawberry haired teen had drawn his sword when he noticed that it was lacking something – the girl he had been about to devour and more importantly the hand that had held the girl.

An eerily calm Ichigo cradled the form of his unconscious sister in his left arm, going over her form to check for any grave injuries that would need to be addressed then and there. Seeing none Ichigo smiled as he saw her eyes blearily open before she quietly muttered, "Ichi-nii."

In return a loving smile appeared on Ichigo's face, "It's fine Karin. Just get some rest and let onii-chan handle this mess ok?"

The young ebony haired girl gave a barely noticeable nod of the head before the dark embrace of unconsciousness took her. With his sister relatively ok and safe Ichigo moved into what remained of his home where he laid his sister to rest. A cursory check using his newly found awareness let him know that his other younger sister and father were also ok and safe from the beast. With that piece of mind Ichigo turned a glacial gaze on the still agonizing Hollow. Unknowingly Ichigo began to subconsciously call on the massive amounts of Reiryoku that now flowed freely through his body, giving his normally honey brown eyes a slightly blue luminescent tint.

"You invaded my home, you harmed my family, and even worse you thought you could get away with it all and take my sister as a snack. For that you will DIE!"

A gruff and somehow familiar voice echoed from within Ichigo's mind, _"Use me. Defend what is precious to us! Never back down!"_

In the blink of an eye Ichigo seemingly fazed out of existence only to reappear behind the now eerily still Hollow with his sword laying across his shoulders. Another blink of the eye and the Hollow's once pristine mask was covered by a shower of blood that spewed forth from the massive slash wound that carved into it from the abdomen to the top of its skull. With a cry of agony the beast burst into dark shadowy bits leaving no trace that it had ever even existed.

_Was that…Shunpo (Flash Step)!?...No…that was pure speed, _a shell shocked Rukia thought.

Ichigo only turned to look at the still downed form of the Shinigami who had essentially saved both his and his family's lives with a quirked eyebrow.

"The heck you looking at shortie?"

* * *

The next morning Ichigo could only sigh and shake his head in exasperation.

It seemed that the little Shinigami had used some magic or some other Shinigami technique to convince his family that the damage to their home had been caused by a truck slamming into it, not by the somewhat physical manifestation of a human's soul that had given into its darker instincts. He wasn't too bothered by the cover-up as it only made sense that she would fabricate some story to hide not only her existence but to also keep the general populace ignorant of what really happened after death.

What was bothering Ichigo was the odd pulling sensation that he felt lingering around the edges of his mind; too distant to call to the forefront of his thought process but close enough to be noticed. The minor irritation the feeling was causing was being compounded by his friends and other people he knew in passing badgering him about the accident that had caused most of his house to be damaged. Of course two individuals could tell that Ichigo was hiding something.

The first was Tatsuki Arisawa a short haired tomboy and Ichigo's best friend since childhood. Having known the strawberry haired teen since before the devastating accident that left the Kurosaki household without a mother she was close enough to Ichigo to pick up on the slight differences in his normal persona. It also helped that with her having known Ichigo for so long she was one of the few to see and experience a side of Ichigo so very few got to; the gentle, loving, intelligent, and level headed big brother side of him. Most saw him as a ruffian who tended to get into fights with the local gangs, but Tatsuki knew that he was still the gentle big brother that had walked through the doors of that dojo clinging to his mother all those years ago.

The other person to suspect something was off was Ichigo's only close male friend, Sado "Chad" Yasutora a tall teen of Mexican descent whose shaggy hair covered most of his face. The two had met through unlikely events that led to them being as close as brothers.

Ichigo had picked a fight with a local thug yet again, but this thug had connections with one of the more violent gangs around Karakura and in retaliation they had taken Ichigo hostage and near beaten the teen to death. Chad had showed up and interfered, taking the beating that was meant for Ichigo. Despite the various bruises and cuts the well built teen had taken he stood frighteningly tall in defense of Ichigo.

After that the two had made a vow to protect what the other saw as precious, forging a bond that had seen them through various fights and detentions together.

The difference between the two was that despite Chad's intimidating stature he was a typical "gentle giant", preferring to speak only when spoken to and solve problems as non-violently as possible. This by no means meant that Chad was weak, far from it. The few times Chad had felt the need to throw punches the victim had to be treated for either severe bone fractures or broken bones altogether.

Tatsuki on the other hand was very outspoken, preferring to punch first and ask questions later; a mentality she shared with Ichigo. Out of the three Tatsuki was possibly the most dangerous, having been trained in martial arts since a very young age, even competing in her fair share of tournaments, always managing to place in the top 5. While Ichigo had also trained at a young age he had stopped doing so after a few years, only to start his own personal regiment that kept him in shape.

That in mind Tatsuki managed to corner her taller friend during a break.

"So what really happened Ichigo?"

Ichigo only quirked an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Tatsuki sighed before she lightly (to her) smacked Ichigo upside the head.

"Baka! You and I both know that whole truck thing is a lie. Even Chad could tell that you were lying," turning to glance at said teen she continued, "isn't that right big guy?"

Staying true to his style Chad only gave a slight nod.

Tatsuki sweatdropped at the casual reply while Ichigo, already used to Chad's way of communicating, attempted to brush off his persistent friend, "Look Tatsuki it's nothing. Me and my family are fine and the insurance is gonna cover the cost of the repairs, no big deal."

Internally Ichigo answered differently, _Besides not like I'm ever gonna have to do that again. That Soul Reaper said it was only temporary after all._

After saying that Ichigo had to suppress the urge to flinch, feeling like he had somehow just jinxed himself.

As if the Kami were out to get Ichigo their sensei walked in and immediately called out in strict voice, "Alright enough out of you brats! Sit down and be quiet, we got a new student joining us."

_Please don't let it be who I think it is,_ Ichigo prayed.

In walked a very familiar short, ebony haired girl.

"Hello everyone! My name us Rukia Kuchiki! Please treat me well!"

_Damnit._

"You can take the seat next to Kurosaki. Kurosaki raise your hand!"

Ichigo did as asked but internally was a different matter, _Sunnova-_

"Hello there Kurosaki-san," Rukia said in an overly cheery voice which was the total opposite of the message she had written on her palm which she was offering to him to shake.

The message plainly read, _'Make a scene and I'll kill you'_

_My life just couldn't be normal could it?_ Ichigo thought to himself.

Despite the oddity of the whole situation Ichigo took it in stride and, keeping his usual scowl on his face, shook the offered hand and grunted in acknowledgement knowing that a being who apparently watched over the passage of souls would not choose to start attending high school without some reason.

Hoping against all hope that the Soul Reaper was here only to thank him or go under cover Ichigo went about his normal business, taking notes when needed and answering questions when asked.

Despite his reputation Ichigo was an incredibly bright teen, always getting high marks in any and every subject and placing highly on the yearly exams, usually scoring within the top 15. In reality it was high marks that had kept him from being expelled due to the various fights he had found himself in, the staff knowing that Ichigo was possibly one of the brightest minds Karakura High had to boast about, even without him actually trying. Some of the staff had even speculated that if Ichigo actually applied himself he would be capable of easily scoring within the top 5 and possibly even fighting the supposed genius Uryuu Ishida for the number one spot.

Before class ended the Soul Reaper in disguise passed him a note, telling him to meet her behind the school during lunch break. That nagging feeling was back and Ichigo wondered if he could just brush off the girl and hope that she forgot about him. With a sigh Ichigo knew that wouldn't be the case – she knew where he lived after all.

Resigning himself to his fate Ichigo made his way to one of the lesser used hallways near the back of the school where he waited for the ebony haired girl to meet him. A few minutes later and his patience at its end Ichigo grumbled to himself before pushing himself off the wall he had been leaning against and began to walk away only to be interrupted by a familiar voice, "You know that no normal human should be capable of what you did last night."

With a sigh Ichigo only nodded, "Yeah I figured as much. But cut the crap, what do you want with me and why are you here?"

Rukia walked from around the corner, "That night I only intended to lend you a small portion of my power, unfortunately you took almost all of it leaving me with only enough Reiryoku to cast maybe three Kido a day."

The teen Kurosaki quirked an eyebrow, "Can't you just…I don't know rest a few days and regain it back? Or maybe I can give it back to you?"

Rukia took a seat on the railing and began swaying her feet, "Normally yes I could just regain any lost Reiryoku by resting but with as low as my reserves are it will take much longer to gain it back. And no, the only reason we were able to do it the first time with you was because I know how to properly control my Reiryoku, you….don't. You'd end up killing me instead."

"So what does this all have to do with me?" Ichigo asked as he leaned against the wall.

"With me out of commission I can't fulfill my duties, and with you now having my powers those duties now fall on you."

A long silence enveloped the two before Ichigo shook his head and began to walk away, "Nope. Not my problem."

Wide eyed and slightly angry at the casual dismissal Rukia stormed up to the taller teen and with surprising strength pushed him into the wall.

"I don't think you understand! Hundreds of souls could be destroyed and the Hollow population here will skyrocket if you don't use my powers to fulfill these responsibilities!"

Eyes narrowed Ichigo shoved back, giving himself some space, "This isn't my problem. I appreciate what you did for me and my family, but that was a one-time deal. Just call for back up or whatever."

Not getting any reply Ichigo began to walk away only to be stopped dead in his tracks at what Rukia said next.

"Your family will be in danger."

"…what?"

"That Hollow attacked your home because even as a human you leaked massive amounts of Reiryoku, not including the surprising amounts the rest of your family emit. Now that you've gained even more Reiryoku they will come to you and your house even more intent on devouring you and your family."

That struck a chord in Ichigo. His family had been put in danger because he had inadvertently drawn the beast to their home due to his own ignorance. It echoed all too familiarly with a certain event in his young life. Yet now he had the power to save his family, however to do so he would have to help out this Soul Reaper.

Before either could do anything about they bother heard an animalistic roar from only a few blocks away followed by a beeping sound coming from Rukia's…cellphone?

Rukia simply slipped on an odd looking fingerless glove with a skull on the back of it. Outstretching the same hand she asked in a grim voice, "So what'll it be?"

Without a thought on his part Ichigo pushed himself onto Rukia's hand, pushing out what seemed to be the – somewhat – physical manifestation of his newly gained Shinigami powers, leaving his physical body to drop to the floor like a puppet whose strings were cut.

With speed and agility Ichigo turned and sped off in the direction of the roar. Arriving at a park not too far away from his school Ichigo saw a sight that made his blood boil. A multi-limbed Hollow with a bloodthirsty grin stretching across its white mask was chasing after the soul of a small child, a little boy by the looks of it. As he grasped the hilt of his large sword he felt a strong grip take hold of his shoulder stopping him from moving forward. Looking to his left he saw that it was Rukia who had managed to arrive at the same time he did, though she looked pretty winded from the trip.

"Don't. After all it isn't your problem right?"

Ichigo grit his teeth as he heard the screams of the terrified child as he hid inside of a jungle gym. Then something struck him, a memory he held dear to his heart, a memory that had driven him to become the person he was today.

"_Do you know what your name means sochi?"_

"_Umm…Strawberry?"_

"_Haha no dear."_

"_Then what does it mean kaa-chan?"_

"_It means 'One who Protects'."_

"_Then I'll do it! I'll grow big and strong and be the one to protect! I'll protect you, Otou-san, and Karin and Yuzu!"_

"_That's my cute little Ichi haha, but remember sometimes you'll meet others who need protection too ok?"_

"_And I'll protect them too!"_

_I told you that I would protect them kaa-chan, that I would protect those who needed me. I won't let you down again! _Ichigo thought to himself, a new fire igniting in the depth of his soul.

Then came that voice from night before, _"Together Ichigo. Together we will fight as one. Never hesitate!"_

A fire in his eye Ichigo shrugged off Rukia's hand and raced towards the Hollow who turned and began to laugh darkly at the sight of Ichigo, thinking itself stronger than the teen.

"You'll make a tasty treat!"

Hefting his massive sword Ichigo ducked underneath one of the Hollow's many limbs before he used his leg strength to send himself into the air, dragging his sword across the mask of the Hollow which sent blood and cries of agony through the air.

Landing on his feet the strawberry haired teen paid no mind to the fading form of the Hollow, instead turning a kind face to the awed child.

"Hey there buddy. You wanna get out of here and go somewhere cool?"

Still somewhat shaken the child looked down and asked, "Wi-will kaa-san and tou-san be there?"

"Were they with you before?" Ichigo asked softly.

"Yeah but then they went away in some weird blue thing."

Knowing that the child meant his parents had crossed over without him Ichigo only nodded, "Then how about I send you to the place where they are?"

Bright eyes of innocence turned to Ichigo, "You can do that!?"

"Yup. Just need to tap my sword on your forehead and you'll be on your way."

"Sugoi! Thanks Mr!"

Smiling Ichigo tapped the kashira of his sword on the boy's forehead. Waving as the boy disappeared into particles of Reishi.

Rukia chose to walk up to the still smiling Ichigo.

"You know what this means right?"

"No. I'm still not doing your job," Ichigo said as he sheathed his sword and began to walk away.

"What!? But you just!-"

"I said I'm not doing your job. You have your duty to whoever the hell your boss is, I don't share that duty. My duty is to my family first and foremost. But I promised someone dear to me long ago that I would help those who need it and I intend to keep that promise with these new powers. If that means killing the occasional Hollow and helping a few souls here and there crossover then so be it."

Rukia's anger faded and she could only stare in awe at what she had just heard from the teen. Somehow he had managed to both accept his duty and reject her's, despite them being pretty similar.

_Ichigo Kurosaki…you are….an odd one._

* * *

**AN:** And that is that! I know that there were a lot of details and things that were changed from how the first episode really went, but I didn't want to write the first episode out…that'd be stupid and boring. Also you can (hopefully) already see some of the changes that I've made to the story and some of the characters. Don't worry Rukia will become the Rukia we all know and love but it is only the first chapter.

Also as you may have guess, yes that voice in Ichigo's head is Zangetsu, though he doesn't know that yet. I included him so early on because…well I wanted to and it would make the story a little more interesting!

So options for the pairing are

Yoruichi

Nel

Tatsuki

Nel

I am willing to include Sena and POSSIBLY Orihime. I'll put up a poll so yall can hash it out for me. I like all the options pretty equally though I kind of favor Tatsuki if only because I have a few ideas on how to incorporate her into the whole thing more. Even if she isn't chosen as the pairing though she will still be playing a much larger role than she did in canon.

I like her character and her relationship with Ichigo and the other characters far too much to just let her slide into the background with other characters like Keigo and Mizuiro.

Oh also self promotion time! I opened a Twitch account because I (like a bunch of other youtubers and gamers) have teamed up with St. Judes to help kick cancer in the balls, cuz fuck cancer. Head over to my Twitch page (www . twitch . tv/mattewo) for a link to donate to the cause and even catch me and some friends acting like fools playing various games like Pokemon, Devil May Cry, Gmod, Cards Against Humanity, and whatever else we end up doing.

Wanna join me and my friends on the streams? Hit me up on Steam (Mattewo), twitter (MatewoTheArtist), or on here for details and such!

Seriously donate - no matter if it's a penny, a dollar or a hundred dollars, every bit counts.

That's about all I got to say sooooo

Until next chapter/story!

Peace

Out!


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** …..really? Something like 105 of you bastards voted on the poll but only 15 reviewed….buttholes.

Haha I'm joking somewhat as admittedly there wasn't much to review as there were only a few changes, but hopefully when I start changing more shit you guys will get more vocal.

I'm a little surprised that Yoruichi is dominating that poll with such a huge lead though. I would have expected her and Nel, maybe Orihime to be neck and neck but damn you people love your cat girls.

That's about all I got to say which makes this possibly my shortest AN to date…yay?

* * *

Ichigo landed on his bed with a sigh of pleasure at finally being able to relax.

He had been running around damn near the entirety of Karakura chasing down Hollows and wandering souls trying to fulfill the requirements of his newly acquired job of being his hometown's Shinigami protector. When he had accepted the "job" he had known that he would have his work cut out for him with a few Hollows and a lot of souls, but figured that he'd be done before the sun set.

He was completely wrong.

The amount of Hollows, even weak ones, wandering around Karakura was ridiculous and the number had made sure that in the span of a few hours Ichigo had gained enough wounds and battle experience that he could be counted as a war veteran. If this had been some RPG style game he was sure that from today alone he would have gone up at least five levels.

Of course the question had been raised - why were there so many Hollows wandering around Karakura in the first place?

He had in turn questioned the only person he thought would know. Despite the annoyance that she was he admitted that the petite Soul Reaper was the more knowledgeable of the two in regards to all of this afterlife business. Ichigo was thusly pretty irritated when all he got from Rukia as a response was a rather casual shrug.

To her credit she had only been sent to Karakura town on regular patrol duty and so knew very little about the town or the modern world for that matter. She had then made up for it by commenting that Karakura did have an oddly high concentration of spiritually aware people and an almost unnatural concentration of Reiryoku - for a human settlement.

Of course her little "cellphone" then interrupted the discussion by giving off the – by then – annoying ringing that signified a Hollow was nearby.

And that was what had constituted most of Ichigo's day, both during and after school. Of course during those down periods of waiting for something to happen Ichigo would either be studying to keep up his grades or be questioning Rukia on the finer details of the after life. Ichigo found it a little odd how fast he was able to just pick everything up, like this was what he was supposed to do. It just felt comfortable for him to be wielding the massive blade that he had learned was called his zanpakuto.

With said blade being a part of his very soul it only made sense that he would feel comfortable wielding it, but there was more to it than that. Ichigo had always felt somewhat…unfulfilled. Of course as a 15 year old high school student that was to be somewhat expected. However there had always been this itch at the back of his mind that made it feel like he wasn't living up to his full potential. This however - the feeling of wielding the rather large blade that was his zanpakuto and protecting the lives of the living and dead by defeating Hollows - just felt…right.

'_Bah! Gotta stop all this unnecessary thinking before I turn into an old man or something,__' _Ichigo thought with a tired yawn before turning over to fall into the realm of the Sandman.

…at least that was his plan. Said plan was interrupted when his closet door was slammed open and sitting there on a futon was none other than the girl he had come to "affectionately" refer to as midget.

Every fiber of Ichigo's being was near screaming at him to yell at the seemingly oblivious Shinigami who had apparently commandeered his closet and made it into a bed for herself. However he knew that his family was still awake and if he yelled loud enough he would surely attract the attention of his father and Yuzu who would both give him a hard time over there being a girl in his closet, though he couldn't fault them really. After all there was a girl in his closet.

Instead of openly venting his frustration the teen instead just slammed both hands onto his face and with his hands still covering his mouth tiredly mumbled, "What the hell are you doing in my closet?"

Either ignoring him or not hearing him due to the fact his hands had muffled his words Rukia instead only said, "Two Hollows and a Plus just disappeared not too far from here."

Now that piqued Ichigo's interest. He had thought he made sure to clear out the area around his home and school of any Hollows and had made a valiant attempt at helping a number of the nearby Plus souls properly pass on. It may have seemed a little selfish but he wanted to make sure his friends and family were safe first and foremost before venturing away into the other areas of Karakura.

Apparently not one, but two Hollows had managed to escape the extermination which did not sit well with him at all.

"What do you mean they disappeared? How is that even possible?" Ichigo inquired with his usual scowl even more prominent.

"My only guess is that the Hollows took the Plus with them back to Hueco Mundo (Hollow World/Sphere). Why they would do that I don't know," Rukia replied as she played around with her phone, a look of deep concentration etched onto her face.

Hearing the petite Soul Reaper's answer only caused Ichigo to raise a brow in questioning, "Hueco Mundo? The hell is that?"

Rukia looked up from fiddling with her "cellphone" with questioning eyes only to snap her fingers in recognition, "Right I never told you about Hueco Mundo! Well Hueco Mundo is the home of all Hollows, though not much else is known about it as no Shinigami has ever gone there and been able to come back."

"So this Hueco Mundo place is pretty much the Hollow equivalent of the Soul Society right?" Ichigo asked.

Rukia only shrugged, "More or less. Again we don't exactly know much about it as travel to Hueco Mundo is only possible if one is a Hollow themselves."

Ichigo nodded in understanding, "Well what about the Plus? Why would they take a Plus with them and not just eat it when they had the chance to?"

Rukia only shook her head, "Your guess is as good as mine Ichigo. For now all we can do is get some rest and prepare for tomorrow. It may be a weekend but that doesn't mean we get to rest. Besides that we also got to go pick up some supplies we may need for later."

Ichigo would have questioned what kind of supplies would help them combat the twisted souls that were Hollows but chose not to ask, too tired from the day's activities to bother. With a tired "Goodnight" from both Ichigo turned off his room's light and made himself comfortable on his bed.

Before the orange haired teen entered the realm of Morpheus a stray thought struck him, _'__How the hell did she get into my house and set up a bed in my closet without anyone noticing?...__'_

* * *

"So where exactly are we going?" Ichigo calmly asked as he and his "boss" made their way through Karakura town, headed for wherever Rukia was getting the supplies she needed.

He had been rudely awoken by his father like any other day and was surprised to find Rukia gone from her – hopefully temporary – sleeping quarters. None too bothered by the Soul Reaper's absence Ichigo took care of his morning routine and sat down to enjoy breakfast with his family.

Said breakfast was interrupted by a ringing doorbell which was answered by his bubbly sister, Yuzu. The young brunette came back and trailing behind her was a smiling Rukia. Ichigo had to resist the urge to facepalm as Rukia introduced herself to his family and told them that she and Ichigo had made plans for the day…together.

Of course her wording made it sound a lot less like friends hanging out and more like a date which sent both Yuzu and his father into hysterics, his father crying to the poster of their mother that, "Our boy is growing up so fast, already wooing beautiful young maidens".

Before he could do anything his sister Karin began to violently stomp on their father's back, berating him for making a scene for no reason.

All the while Yuzu fretted over her elder brother and asked if Rukia and he were dating which he calmly explained to her that they were not dating and were in fact just friends, if that.

Once Ichigo had dressed and made his way out of his home - stepping over the still beaten form of his father and hi-five-ing Karin on the way out - Ichigo was caught off guard as Rukia offered an oddly serene smile that spoke of happiness.

She offhandedly commented on how happy his family seemed to be and how well they all got together. In exchange Ichigo showed one of his rare smiles, a small one that made his normally cold brown eyes glitter with the smallest hints of happiness and pride.

"Yeah, they're pretty odd, but I wouldn't want it any other way."

Ichigo had turned his gaze to the brunette next to him and was surprised to see a look of longing on her face, a look he knew all too well. It spoke of loss, but not just any loss, the deep scarring hurt of losing a loved one, of someone who was near and dear to one's heart. Ichigo chose not to comment or ask, knowing very well that such a topic was very personal and would only bring up topics that he wasn't ready to divulge to Rukia just yet.

He may owe his and his family's lives to her for giving him the power to protect them, but that did not mean he was comfortable with telling her about the day that had so etched itself into his memory and had scarred his life so egregiously that neither he nor his family were ever the same again. That was knowledge that only a very scant few outside of his family were privy to and he would like to keep it that way.

Ichigo shook himself from his small reverie when he realized that Rukia was talking to him.

"It's a small shop that all Shinigami stop at to receive their Gigai as well as a few other useful tools that help us in fulfilling our roles while here in the living world," Rukia said as she observed her surroundings.

This was her first visit to the living world in her long after life and seeing all the modern wonders first hand was a very awing experience to her.

Ichigo only chuckled and shook his head as Rukia looked like Yuzu had when they had gone to a nearby amusement park for the first time. The look of barely hidden childish glee shining in her eyes was a bit of an odd experience for Ichigo as he had long since become a little jaded towards the world that had taken away the light of his young life.

Before his thoughts could stray into darker territory Ichigo's attention was turned on the form of a girl about his age smiling and waving at him from a distance. Of course he knew the girl as she was one of the very few who he would call a friend.

Her name was Orihime Inoue and she was well known throughout Karakura High as being the very bubbly and very ditzy beauty that not one person could dislike in any way. With orange hair only a shade or so darker than Ichigo's own that fell in smooth waves to frame her face and cascade down to her mid back and curves that had no right being on a barely fifteen year old high school-er, Orihime was adored by many. She of course was far too naïve to really care or realize how much attention she received on a daily basis and so both Ichigo and Tatsuki had become her "bodyguards", making sure that Orihime was kept safe from those with less than savory thoughts.

However Ichigo was possibly the closest to the young beauty as they shared a bond born from knowing the loss of a loved one. While Ichigo had what was left of his small family to fall back on and his younger sisters to care for Orihime did not have the same luxury.

When her brother had been brought to his family's clinic Ichigo had been there to help his father as best he could, but unfortunately it was all in vain. At the age of 12 Orihime had lost her only true family - her parents not really counting with how unfit they were to even be parents in the first place. The girl was left broken and distraught at the loss of the person who had pretty much raised her. Ichigo had seen the state she was left in, a state he himself had been in when he was much younger and had reached out to the girl. He had been her pillar of strength when she needed it most and they had since become close friends.

She was then introduced to Tatsuki through Ichigo and the two had hit it off instantly. Nowadays it was the norm to see the bubbly young teen in the company of either Ichigo or Tatsuki, though her and Tatsuki had their own group of friends at school as well.

Shaking himself from his little stroll down memory lane Ichigo allowed the smallest of smiles to spread across his lips as he nodded and lazily waved back.

Orihime began to make her way across the street to greet her friend and the girl next to him when she saw Ichigo's wide and worried eyes as all the muscles in his legs tensed and powered him into a dead sprint, racing to reach Orihime.

Turning her head Orihime soon realized why Ichigo was running as fast as he could, a semi-truck was quickly speeding towards her, going far too fast for the brakes to do much of anything. In a very surreal experience Orihime's world seemed to slow down allowing her to come to the full numbing realization of what would happen in only a few seconds, far too short a time for her to move out of the way or for Ichigo to make it to her.

Orihime closed her eyes and hoped that whatever pain would come to her that it would be over quickly.

Time seemingly resumed itself as Ichigo began to unconsciously push small amounts of Riatsu into his legs, pushing his body past its physical limitations so that he could have the slimmest of chances to save one of his true friends. To his shock though as he pushed his body to move even faster than he already was he saw something that he would not have believed in a million years.

Right as Orihime was about to be slammed into by the massive semi, a red and black almost Medusa like Hollow appeared from seemingly thin air only to do the unexpected and grab Orihime by her calf and forcibly pull her away from the path of the truck, saving her life in the process. Due to the force of the pull she was instead sent hurtling away from the middle of the street and towards the side walk where she would no doubt tumble and possibly break a bone or two – though better that than the alernative. Still not wanting any sort of damage to come to Orihime, Ichigo ignored the Hollow, sparing it the briefest of glances before he adjusted his own path.

With reflexes and strength honed from years of street fights, basic martial arts training, and his father's antics Ichigo was able to wrap his arms around the speeding orange bullet that was Orihime, saving her from hitting the unforgiving hardness of concrete. Of course Ichigo's footing wasn't exactly as solid as could be and so he was sent falling onto his back with enough force to cause him to wince in pain as his spine collided harshly with concrete.

Despite the pain Ichigo sighed in relief when he felt the still breathing and conscious form of Orihime begin to move around in his arms.

'_A bruise on my back in exchange for saving Orihime from a few broken bones? Definitely worth it,__'_ Ichigo thought with a sigh.

Soon the other pedestrians and even the driver of the formerly speeding truck came to see the two teens as Ichigo pulled himself into a standing position along with a shaken Orihime.

"You ok Inoue?" Ichigo asked as he gave the girl a once over, searching for any signs of injury.

"Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime asked as she opened her eyes.

When she realized that she was indeed still very much so alive and that it was Ichigo who had saved her – from her view of things – Orihime instantly hugged the life out of Ichigo, pressing her face into the chest of her much taller male friend.

"Thank you Kurosaki-kun! I thought I was a goner for sure!"

Ichigo blushed and rubbed the back of his head nervously as the gathered crowd of onlookers began to applaud him and his act of bravery with the occasional comment of "What a cute couple!" and "What an amazing young man!" heard here and there.

Orihime blushed a bright red as she realized that they did indeed look very much so like a couple and buried her face even deeper into Ichigo's chest.

Luckily for the both of them one Tatsuki Arisawa forcefully made her way through the crowd and saved her two friends from further embarrassment by dragging them away from the eye of the crowd.

"Orihime are you alright?" Tatsuki asked in a deeply worried tone.

Orihime was after all her closest friend outside of Ichigo and she like him had made a promise to keep the girl safe from harm.

"I'm fine Tatsuki. Kurosaki-kun managed to save me just in the nick of time like a knight in shining armor," Orihime happily spoke, though she soon devolved into a fit of giggles as her imagination brought up the image of a scowling Ichigo in a medieval suit of armor riding an equally grumpy white horse.

While all this was happening Ichigo's eyes were trained on the clawed mark that looked to be almost burned into the skin of Orihime's calf, the obvious mark of the Hollow who had been the one to really save Orihime. Not only did the mark itself bother him, but the fact that had it not been for the Hollow interfering he would have had to watch as yet another person was taken from his life as he did nothing but look on was raging in his mind.

Tatsuki turned her eyes to Ichigo knowing that he would be able to spot if anything was wrong with their friend better than any of those present. She was of course curious as to why Ichigo seemed to be glaring at a spot on the ditzy teen's leg, as if there were something there that was just not right yet when she looked there everything seemed fine, only Orihime's flawless skin being seen.

"Hey Ichigo you ok there? Is Orihime fine?" Tatsuki asked as she waved her hands in front of Ichigo's face.

Hearing Tatsuki's question Ichigo shook his head and nodded, "Yeah she should be fine, though she should probably take it easy for the rest of the day and not try and do anything too strenuous."

Eyes narrowed in suspicion Tatsuki asked, "How did you even manage that Ichigo? I mean I know you're fast but to have been able to grab Orihime ad pull her out of the way like that? That's almost inhuman."

Ichigo internally winced, but maintained his poker face, "I guess it was just the adrenaline pumping through my body that helped me do that."

He trusted Tatsuki above anyone bar his family but just like he had not told his family he was not going to tell Tatsuki about his new occupation as a temporary guardian of Karakura's paranormal business. He knew that Tatsuki would instantly demand that she help in some way or that he not risk his life to fulfill his duties and he just could not pull anyone close to him into his affairs and obligations.

Even with his newfound powers in his soul form there was just too much danger to make it ok for him to tell anyone about his job as a temporary Soul Reaper. Even with these powers he had almost failed to protect one of his friends, scratch that he had failed to protect his friend and that made him feel weaker than he had felt in years, a feeling he was not ok with.

'_Something here isn__'__t right. There__'__s no way Ichigo was fast enough to grab Orihime. And it looked like she was thrown away from the truck. He__'__s hiding something, I just know it,__' _Tatsuki thought to herself.

While she would normally press the situation and try and force whatever secret Ichigo was keeping out of him Tatsuki knew that Ichigo was made of tough stuff and could more than take care of himself. Besides that Orihime had just had a near death experience and she would need some company more than anything right now.

With a nod towards Ichigo Tatsuki threw an arm around Orihime and began to walk away, "See ya later than Ichigo. Don't do anything stupid!"

Orihime turned her head and offered a smile, "Thanks again Kurosaki-kun! See ya at school on Monday!"

As the two girls faded from view Rukia walked out from a nearby alley way, "I take it you saw it too?"

Ichigo kept his eyes on the direction Tatsuki had walked away with Orihime, "Depends on what you mean. Are you talking about the Hollow that saved Inoue or the mark it left on her leg?"

Rukia only nodded her head, confirming what Ichigo had thought.

"We'll keep an eye on them later. For now we should just hurry and get to the shop so I can get what I need and we can start our patrol."

Ichigo just nodded and turned and began to follow the short Soul Reaper as they walked further into the outskirts of Karakura town.

* * *

"….a rundown candy shop? This is where the people in charge of maintaining the balance between the living and the dead come to get their supplies?" Ichigo asked with a sweat drop trailing down the back of his head.

"My my you teenagers are sure getting meaner and meaner with each generation," came a voice from behind the duo.

Turning around Rukia was the first to react by bowing at the waist, "Nice to see you again Urahara-san."

Ichigo only turned with a raised eyebrow as he examined the man that stood behind them. From what Ichigo could see the odd man was only a few inches taller than Ichigo's impressive height and was garbed in one of the strangest get ups he had ever seen in his life.

Urahara's face was mostly hidden by the shadow his green and white pinstriped bucket hat cast, only allowing for the almost mocking smirk that was present on his grizzled face to be seen. Of course that too was partially hidden by the small fan he casually waved in front of his face. His other hand held a plain looking walking stick though judging by the carefree way he held it and leaned on it, it was probably more for show than anything else.

What really caught Ichigo's eye was the over abundance of the color green in the odd man's clothing. The only exception to this was the black coat with a white diamond pattern on the bottom half that trailed down and billowed around his knees. Underneath that he wore a dark green shirt and matching pants. As foot wear he donned a traditional pair of wooden geta that contrasted heavily with the style of the modern day.

Despite the odd look and seemingly carefree manner in which Urahara carried himself Ichigo was weary of the mystery man. Ichigo was not the most of observant of people however he was far and away from being oblivious to the people and things around him, something he had his weird father to thank for. For this odd man to be able to sneak up on not just him but a trained Soul Reaper like Rukia, powers or no, was not a task easily accomplished by just anybody.

On top of that Ichigo was getting an odd vibe from being around him, like he knew too much, which was something Ichigo could justify with the way Urahara was looking at him.

'_There is no way that this guy is normal. He has to either be a Soul Reaper himself or something. There is just no way that he would be trusted by the Soul Society to help them out without him having some pretty heavy connections to them,__' _Ichigo thought.

Deciding that voicing his thoughts probably wouldn't be the smartest of calls Ichigo followed his instincts, "Who the hell are you geta-boshi (Hat and Clogs)?"

Urahara only struck an overly dramatic pose, clutching his chest in feigned pain.

"Oh how disrespectful the youth of today is! In my day we would have never said such a thing!"

Ichigo's eyebrow twitched in frustration, _'__Great not only do I have to deal with my dad acting like an idiot there__'__s this fool.__'_

Quickly switching back into the carefree persona from before Urahara waved his small fan and spoke, "But allow me to introduce myself. I am Kisuke Urahara, owner of this fine establishment. How may I be of service to you young folk?"

Rukia chose that moment to speak up, "Nothing too much. I just need to have you look my Gigai over and possibly pick up some Mod Souls if you have any laying around."

Urahara began making his way to the front door of his shop with Rukia and Ichigo following behind him.

"Mod Souls eh? Why Rukia did I not give you one when you first came to my humble shop? What ever would you need another for?"

Ichigo had the strong feeling that the shop owner was smirking behind that fan of his.

"Well you see I ran into some…complications and as of right now can't fulfill my duties so I instead made Ichigo here my Substitute," Rukia nervously said, fidgeting as Urahara's gaze turned to her and then Ichigo.

"Hmm so this young lad is now your partner? I do hope you know what you're doing Rukia. You and I both know what the consequences of your decision could mean," Urahara said in an uncharacteristically serious voice.

Walking into the shop Urahara gestured for the two to take a seat at the table that sat in the middle of the small room.

Ichigo was intrigued by that tid-bit of information though, "Wait consequence? Why would Rukia get in trouble for doing what she did?"

Urahara turned a grin on Rukia, "So you did not inform our young human friend about what exactly you have done eh?"

Rukia only began to fidget under the combined gaze of the two males.

Taking note of Rukia's nervous state Kisuke chose to speak up, "Well what Ms. Kuchiki here failed to tell you is that the Soul Society, The Gotei 13 and Central 46 more so, do not exactly look fondly upon bringing mortals such as yourselves into our little world."

Ichigo's eyes widened at the new information, "Wait so what Rukia did was illegal?"

"Well no not really. You see Central 46 and the Gotei 13 would rather not involve mortals, even those who can see spirits and such, in what is their job. While it's not really illegal to enlist the help of a mortal it is not something that is looked upon in a good light. I wouldn't fret though. The most Rukia will get is a slap on the wrist, especially with the backing she has."

"Who are the Gotei 13 and the Central 46? Why do they have a say in all of this?" Ichigo asked.

All traces of humor left Urahra as he lowered his fan, his steel gray eyes becoming noticeably hardened, "The Gotei 13 or the Thirteen Court Guard Squads is the main military branch of the Soul Society and is divided into thirteen different squads with different duties, specialties, and a Captain that is in charge of that squad. The exception to this is Squad One which is headed by the Captain-Commander, the head of all of the Gotei 13. His squad is made up of only the best of the best. The Central 46 is the political governing body of Soul Society that dictates the laws, policies, and other such political decisions."

'_That__'__s it. This guy has got to be a Soul Reaper. There is no way that he knows so much about the Soul Society and its inner workings otherwise,__' _Ichigo thought with narrowed eyes.

A smile slowly made its way onto Urahara's face as he spoke, "But enough of that serious business. Tessai!"

In came a man that easily towered over Ichigo, with muscles that bulged and made him look like he would easily blend in with a some biker gang or weight lifting competition. The cornrows and handlebar mustache only served to further this opinion.

The blue apron the tall muscular man donned however contrasted that thought.

"Yes Mr. Urahara?"

"Could you please make some tea for Ms. Kuchiki and Mr. Kurosaki while I go and retrieve the items they need?"

"Of course sir."

The man was gone in a blur with Urahara following at a more sedate pace, whistling some tune and twirling his cane like a baton.

For awhile neither of the two spoke, Ichigo wrapped up in his thoughts and going over all that he had just learned and Rukia still somewhat nervous about what Ichigo would think. She wasn't close enough to him for his opinion of her to really matter to her all that much but he was still her "associate" when it came to their job and the last thing she wanted was for it to be awkward for the two of them to work together.

"...thank you," Ichigo whispered.

Rukia turned curious eyes on the tall orange haired teen.

"What? Why you looking at me like that?" Ichigo asked with his usual scowl and gruff speech coming to the forefront.

Rukia only shook her head, "Why are you thanking me? I pretty much blackmailed you into doing my job."

Ichigo sighed as he relaxed his posture and ran a hand through his hair, "Yeah, while I'm not exactly happy about that I'm thanking you because you helped me save my family. And although you're making me do all this Hollow hunting and crap you've also given me the power to be able to protect my family and friends and for that I am grateful."

Rukia could only shake her head in disbelief. Most people would either be angry at her or outright hate her for throwing such big responsibilities on them in such an underhanded way but Ichigo seemed to be more than happy to do so as long as it meant that he could keep those he cared about safe from the dangers of the world, living or otherwise.

It was at this time that both Tessai and Urahara waltzed back into the room, the former carrying a tray with cups of warm tea.

"Unfortunately it seems that I no longer have any Mod Souls in stock so you'll have to make due until I can get some ordered and delivered here," the odd shop owner said.

Ichigo turned a curious eye on the knowledgable blonde, "So what is a Mod Soul exactly and why do I need it?"

Urahara only grinned that infuriating grin of his, "Well a Mod Soul is an interesting little thing that not only ejects your spiritual body but also carries a manufactured soul that inhabits the vacant body so the user's body is not just left out on the side of a street when they need to do battle."

The concept and usefulness of such a thing was not lost on Ichigo, especially with him still technically being human and having to attend school and other things. However something Kisuke had said had caught his interest,"Wait, manufactured soul? As in souls made in like a factory or something?"

"Indeed," was Kisuke's curt reply.

Ichigo flinched at the thought of such a thing. The idea that the Soul Society had the ability to manufacture sentient and self-aware souls at will seemed just wrong. It violated the very laws of nature in such a way that it was actually kind of disgusting. Again Ichigo could clearly see how the Mod Souls could be useful tools for any Soul Reaper who was performing a mission out in the human world, but the fact that these damn near human souls were seen as just that, tools, left a bad taste in his mouth.

It seemed he wasn't the only one who thought so as both Urahara and Rukia both bore looks of shame and guilt.

After enjoying the delicious tea Tessai had made for them and with Ichigo getting fed up with the antics of the eccentric shop owner Rukia and Ichigo thought it best that leave.

However as Ichigo was about to exit the door he turned serious honey brown eyes and stared straight into the steel gray orbs of Urahara.

"I have a question...more like a favor to ask of you."

Urahara merely grinned, hiding his face behind his fan, "And what could I, a humble shop owner, do for a youngster like you hmm?"

"Cut the crap geta-boshi. I don't know exactly what you are but sure as hell aren't a normal human. I also know that you're strong and know whole lot about this whole Soul Reaper business. What I want to know is can you help me? Can you help me get even stronger?"

"Say that you're right and that I can indeed help you get stronger. Why would you want to? Why would I want to waste my time to train you?" Urahara asked in a deadly serious voice, all traces of his usually goofy persona gone.

Ichigo looked down and clenched his fists, "I can't give you a reason why you should take the time to train me, but I will tell you why I want t-...why I need to. I need to get stronger so that I can protect my family and friends."

Memories of the day he lost his mother flashed in his mind's eye, followed closely by the night not only a few days ago where he had almost lost his sister Karin, and then came the events of earlier today - watching helplessly as he tried, in vain, to try and save Orihime only for a Hollow to step in and do what he could not.

For awhile neither said anything, the gravity of Ichigo's words filling the silence with the weight of the power and emotion that were carried in them. Had anyone outside of Ichigo's family and close friends seen this display of raw emotion they would have been shocked to see the scowling youth with a dangerous reputation show such a deeply emotional side.

Though Urahara was caught off guard with Ichigo reaching out to him for some thing like training he was not at all surprised by his reasons for doing so.

_'Isshin your boy really is something else. Masaki would be proud of the great person he's grown into...'_

Despite the joy his thoughts carried Urahara's face showed no outward signs of said nostalgia, keeping up the serious facade for a little longer.

"Be here tomorrow before sundown and we'll talk about setting up a schedule for you."

Ichigo just nodded in response, the fires of determination burning in his eyes.

_'Things are going to be getting even more interesting around here,'_ Urahara mused to himself as he watched the young teen walk off with Rukia.

* * *

**AN:** A rather shortish chapter but I did say I wanted to have this out soon and the next things I want to write would extend this to about 10,000ish words or so, which I suppose most of you wouldn't mind. However I don't feel like prolonging this any longer and this contains quite a few significant changes to the overall story that I think are good enough to stand on their own.

The whole Orihime and Ichigo thing, yes I know that's not how it goes. I intentionally tweaked that bit. Tatsuki and Orihime are no less closer than they were canonically, it's just now Ichigo played a significantly larger role which I think is only fitting.

As you can see I'm also sticking pretty close to the canon timeline but I hope that the changes I've made are enough to keep you interested in reading.

Also unless Nel gains a massive boost or something it looks like Yoruichi has won the poll. I'll leave it up for a little longer just to give the others a slight chance to take the lead, though I doubt that will happen with Yoruichi so far in the lead.

On another note there is a link on my profile that takes you to my youtube channel where I record things. As of now it's all guitar covers that I've done and I would appreciate it if you could go over and watch some of them and spread the word about em.

And lastly I am finally back in school and due to the fact that my campus is about a two hour commute I have quite a bit of time to spend on writing. Thanks to that you can expect a little more frequent updates of my stories which I'm sure most would appreciate.

Be awesome and leave a review telling me what you think. Criticism is welcomed and flames will be met with derisive laughter then shared with friends to give us something to laugh at.

Until next chapter!

Peace out!


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: **ok seriously? 200 and something votes and only near 40 reviews? Y'all gotta stop holding out in me here! If you got that much to say about the pairing the least you can do is drop a simple "good job" or something. Trust me I really friggin appreciate even those.

Nonetheless this fic, my pokemon one, and my NarutoxDishonored fic are all giving my a fun time writing again. This one in particular due to it being somewhat different than my norm.

My passion to write this was invigorated by the absolutely AMAZING remixes courtesy of Rayden Cybersoul. If you're looking for some good electronic remixes to Bleach songs like Treachery, Stand Up Be Strong, Pleasures of Combat, and a few more go check out Rayden's YouTube channel. Some great stuff on there. Makes doing homework feel more like writing in a Death Note. That is how epic the remixes are.

This chapter will be featuring even more divergences from canon, though not the events themselves but more in having to do with how those events go. Read the chapter and you'll see what I'm talking about.

* * *

"What the heck is a square root Ichigo?" Rukia asked aloud.

Ichigo could only internally sigh before explaining the mathematical concept to the supposedly hundred something year old as best he could. Apparently math was not a part of the curriculum of the Soul Reaper Academy.

A few days ago and all he had to really worry about was his family, getting into a good university, and other mundane items. Here he was now helping a Soul Reaper with math homework while they staked out the house of one of his friends to stop her from being attacked by a Hollow.

_'Kami must like to see me suffer,' _Ichigo lamented.

Deciding to move his thoughts from the oddity his life had become the strawberry haired teen asked a question of his own, "Why would a Hollow choose Orihime to go after?"

While it was meant to be a rhetorical question Rukia had no problem throwing in her own two cents, "Only two reasons I can think of is that it's your fault or-"

Angry at the Soul Reaper for insinuating that his friend's life was in danger because of him Ichigo cut Rukia off, "How the hell is this my fault midget!?"

Rukia, who had an equally short temper, snapped back, "Idiot! You have no control over your Reiryoku and because of that it's literally leaking off of you near constantly. Their bodies have had to adapt to even be able to stand in your presence without fear."

Ichigo's eyes widened in shock. He knew, from Rukia constantly harping on him for it and Urahara briefly mentioning it, that he had terrible control over the massive amount of Reiryoku he had. He had never considered that his friends and family would be in danger because of that.

"What do you mean they had to adapt?"

In a much calmer tone Rukia looked Ichigo in the eyes, "Every person, living and dead, exerts Reiatsu. Those with more Reiryoku exert more Reiatsu, it being what some would call an 'aura'. You humans have so little Reiryoku that it's hardly noticeable unless one is spiritually aware. You however have so much Reiryoku that your Reiatsu is like that of a Shinigami's, a pressure almost like gravity. Because of your abysmal control you are constantly exerting your Reiatsu which is why so many are intimidated by you. They can feel your Reiatsu even as humans."

Ichigo turned away, his usual scowl now on his face.

Rukia shook her head, but continued with the impromptu lesson, "For them to not be affected by your Reiatsu they have to have significantly stronger ones themselves, meaning they have to produce more Reiryoku."

A tense silenced followed, with the occasional sound of a nocturnal animal scurrying around as the only break.

Finally Ichigo spoke, though in a much tougher tone, "What was the second possibility?"

Turning her gaze to the illuminated room of Orihime Rukia spoke, "The only other possibility is that the Hollow knew her in life, well enough to have a reason to come for her."

Ichigo's mind flashed back to earlier that day, seeing the Hollow appear from thin air to save Orihime from the truck. For some reason he felt as if he had known or at least seem the Hollow from somewhere. The black hair and almost human contours of the porcelain mask brought up an image Ichigo could not believe.

_'Could it be?...Is the Hollow...Sora?'_

Before Ichigo's thoughts could delve any further into possibilities of just who the Hollow was his senses flared to life, alerting him to a new and malicious presence in the area. Eyes narrowed Ichigo used what little he understood of Reiryoku to mentally pinpoint where this new presence was, though part of him already knew exactly where the Hollow had appeared.

Seeing the massive form of the Hollow from earlier in the day backhand Tatsuki Ichigo leapt from the rooftop he and Rukia had been on, sword already in hand.

* * *

For the second time in one day Orihime felt fear like never before. However this time was different. Earlier in the day her fear had been pretty logical, after all when you're staring down the headlights of a massive semi-truck barreling towards you at speeds only achievable by a vehicle you too would be scared.

Right here and now though she felt a different kind of fear. A fear that did not register with her conscious mind. No this was an instinctual fear that was born from her ancestors of long ago, those first humans who lived in caves to shield themselves from the vicious beasts that lived outside those stone walls.

However where those first humans had seen and known what that beast looked like she did not. She did not know what had trashed part of her small apartment. She did not know what had sent Tatsuki flying across the room with such force that her friend was sent into unconsciousness. All she could see was the blurry form of something huge standing in front of her.

When she felt clawed hands grasp her much smaller form in the massive beast's hands she could do nothing but scream in fear. Oddly for a moment a strange thought hit her. It seemed almost as if Death itself had come for her, angry that she had escaped his clutches once before.

In her fearful state she did not register the sound of glass breaking, only realizing that someone or something had come to her rescue when she was dropped to the floor in a heap.

She noticed something different though. When whatever monster had broken into her house and made itself known she felt a cold chill grip her throat, slowly suffocating her in a blanket of dark and revolting emotions. However this new presence was vastly different. With its arrival that deathly feeling was gone, washed away and replaced with a much warmer feel. Oddly the new presence rang bells in her head, making her feel as if she knew this feeling personally except now the feeling was much more noticeable.

Light brown eyes peered up through orange hair to behold a sight she was both awed and happy to witness. Orihime now understood just why this new presence felt so familiar, because it was. Standing before her, garbed in all black robes and wielding a massive blade, was the familiar form of one Ichigo Kurosaki.

All too grateful for the appearance of her friend Orihime did not question the strangeness of Ichigo's current state of dress or why he was holding a sword just as big as him like it weighed nothing. The teen was forced to question other things though when she turned her gaze and saw what it was that Ichigo was currently fighting.

Orihime now realized just why her instincts had been screaming at her to run or play dead. Before her was a huge monster who looked like the Greco/Roman stories of the Gorgon Medusa, except with a black and red color theme and a porcelain white mask covering its face. Smack in the middle of its chest was a hole, a perfectly shaped hole where there was simply nothing.

While a huge part of her was ready to run in fear a small part of her oddly resonated with the monster as if trying to tell her that she knew the beastly creature before her.

However before Orihime could ponder on such thoughts a familiar petite raven haired girl appeared in her vision, only partially distracting her from the sight of her crush and the beast dueling it out in her living room.

"Orihime we have to get out of here. It's not safe here."

Rukia's words registered in Orihime's mind but they did not fully connect, the speech becoming meaningless jargon as her conscious mind was much more focused on the sight of Ichigo duking it out with the beast. It was only with Rukia tugging the strawberry haired girl away that Orihime finally registered that there was someone else in the room.

"What about Kurosaki-kun?" Orihime asked with worry heavy in her words.

Rukia spared the temporary Shinigami the briefest of glances before shaking her head, "He'll be fine. But right now he can't fight at full strength, because he's more worried about you and Tatsuki-san."

Anxiously biting her lip Orihime nodded her head, knowing full well that Ichigo would always place the health and well being of his friends and family above his own.

With strength surprising for one of her size Rukia lifted the unconscious form of Tatsuki on her shoulder and hurriedly led Orihime out of what was soon to become a battleground.

Ichigo caught the nod Rukia gave him before she left with his two friends, leaving only him and the Hollow who looked to be even angrier with Orihime gone.

"Sorry buddy but I don't exactly take too kindly to people hurting my friends!" Ichigo roared as he hefted his massive blade. With a swing Ichigo carved a bloody gash into the Hollow's midsection. Not wanting to cause more of a mess than had already been made Ichigo brought his hands up and quickly let gravity assist in bringing his Zanpaktou's edge down in a manner similar to a guillotine.

**"Orihime!" **The beast roared in anguish.

Shocked at hearing the formerly mindless beast call out the name of his friend Ichigo's strike shifted. Instead of cutting straight through the Hollow's mask the strawberry haired teen moved the blade where it only delivered a glancing blow, sending porcelain shards into the air.

Ichigo's eyes widened in shock as he saw the face that had been hidden behind the beastly mask. Hate filled eyes bore into Ichigo's own before the teen was sent hurtling through the air and out of the apartment complex via the wall.

* * *

Orihime and Rukia waited anxiously outside in the streets with Tatsuki cradled in Orihime's lap. Both could clearly hear the sounds of battle that raged inside of Orihime's apartment turned battleground. Rukia was worried only for the fact that despite him only having Shinigami powers for less than a week Ichigo was usually always quick to defeat a Hollow. He fought and killed the monsters with the ease of a veteran warrior that no teen should be capable of.

Now it was taking him much longer than normal to finish off what felt like a simple newborn Hollow.

Fear blossomed in both her and Orihime as they saw Ichigo's body crash through a wall. Tears ready to fall Orihime had to choke back a sob when she saw pieces of drywall collapse onto Ichigo's unmoving body.

"Ichigo!" Orihime cried as she began to rush towards the fallen form of one of her dearest friends.

Halfway there the crying teen was halted dead in her tracks thanks to a massive clawed hand painfully clutching her in its grip. Horror and sadness echoed throughout her body as she laid teary eyes upon the face hidden behind the mask.

"So...Sora-nii?"

Gripping her in his claws was none other than the soul of her elder brother, Sora Inoue. The brother that had taken her from their abusive parents. The brother that had all but raised her on his own. The brother she had watched die right in front her eyes years ago.

In a voice that raised the hairs on the back of her neck the beast replied, **"Hime."**

Tears cascaded down her face as Orihime laid eyes on the partially hidden face of her brother.

"Orihime! That's not Sora anymore!"

Turning her gaze Orihime saw Ichigo painfully remove himself from the pile of rubble that had laid on top of him. Before she could make sense of his words she felt a crushing force squeeze her body, stealing away all the oxygen in her body.

**"She's mine!" **The Hollow roared.

Ichigo defiantly stared the beast down, "No she's not! It is not the job of the older brother to cage up our siblings. It's our job to protect them! As older brothers it is our job to make sure that at the end of the day our siblings are safe and sound. Their decisions are their own. If we cage them up their whole lives they will never grow, they will never be able to see the world for what it is, good and bad!"

For a moment it seemed as if Ichigo had gotten through the mind of the Hollow and reached into what reminded of the true Sora. The grip around Orihime weakened, allowing her to gasp and gulp in air.

The respite was over quickly.

Orihime screamed in pain as she was once more victim to the crushing pressure of the Hollow's grip. Ichigo's brown eyes hardened, discarding any sense of mercy he may have had for this Hollow.

He may have only known the elder Inoue male for a brief moment but in that moment he had seen what kind of person he was. Sora was like him, a caring elder brother who would lay down their lives for the sake of their siblings.

"_Ichi...Ichigo. Please do me one thing. Look after...Hime for me. From one brother to another please keep my sister safe."_

Whatever had happened to Sora had twisted that desire to protect his sister into something almost unrecognizable.

As Ichigo readied his blade he felt a swell of power rush through his body, reinvigorating him and giving him a boost to go along with his reaffirmed belief. Accompanying the rush of power was a voice he had heard only once before.

_"Together Ichigo. Together we will protect what is precious to us. Stand strong! Never falter!" _

With a renewed sense of strength pumping through his body Ichigo rushed the beastly form of what had once been Sora Inoue, intent on saving Orihime. In a burst of speed Ichigo was gone from normal human eyesight. Only seconds later he reappeared high above the Hollow, Orihime being carried in his hands bridal style.

The Hollow's arm erupted in a shower of gore with its hand falling to the floor no longer attached to its proper limb. Despite the wound the Hollow turned and attempted to use its large snake like lower body as a whip.

Reflexes kicking in Ichigo managed to bring up his sword and block the attack. Per the laws of physics though the force of the attack pushed Ichigo back down to the earth. Orihime still cradled in one hand Ichigo struggled to keep the massive tail from flattening him like a pancake. Despite the lance of pain that shot through his lower body from his feet harshly meeting concrete Ichigo managed to maintain the strength needed to hold off the snake like appendage.

Briefly Ichigo looked down to make sure that Orihime was safe and in that short moment he saw it, her normally radiant face dampened by the twin streams of tears that trekked down her face. It hurt him more than any wound could. Nonetheless Ichigo steeled himself for what he was about to do, for what he would have to do to make sure that Orihime was kept safe.

"Rukia!"

As if already knowing what his plan was Rukia was by his side in an instant.

"Take Orihime and get away from here."

Rukia just nodded resolutely, no emotion showing on her face.

With a massive heave in effort Ichigo managed to toss the tail of the Hollow, and by proxy the Hollow it was attached to, away. Using the brief respite Ichigo handed Orihime to Rukia. The petite rave enter managed to carry the much taller girl with only the barest hints of strain on her face. With a nod to Ichigo she was gone, moving as fast as the gigai would allow her to.

For the third time in his life a second voice that was not his own echoed in his mind, _"Never back down. Never hesitate. Let your will and determination become as sharp as your blade and with it cut down any who threaten what you protect."_

With hardened brown eyes Ichigo stared down the recovering form of the Hollow. Anger in his words Ichigo spoke aloud, "I will not let you harm Orihime. There may have once been a part of Sora in you, but from where I'm standing all I see is a Hollow, not the brother who even on his deathbed cared so much for his little sister that he asked me to look out for her."

Almost as if to show what Ichigo said was true, the mask of the Hollow began to reform, covering the face of the soul behind it and, in the eyes of the spectators, destroying what ever humanity had once been there.

No longer was this Sora Inoue, loving brother of Orihime Inoue. No this was now just a Hallow, a beast of instinct and darkness.

And with that in mind Ichigo brandished the massive blade that was his Zanpaktou and rushed the beast, intent on killing it and freeing whatever part of Sora that may still reside in there.

Working off of instinct the Hollow lashed out with its massive lower half, attempting to sweep the teen off of his feet.

Ichigo merely propelled himself into the air above the offending limb. However in a show of dexterity the Hollow coiled its tail, sending it swinging through the air at Ichigo. Despite his poker face Ichigo inwardly grimaced, knowing that in the air his ability to maneuver was severely weakened. Not willing to sit there and wait for the pain to come, the spiky haired teen brought up his blade, allowing the massive thing to absorb most of the impact.

Despite saving himself from the possibility of a few cracked or broken ribs Ichigo felt his arm go slightly numb from the shock of the attack. Throwing the thought of pain into the back of his mind Ichigo merely let out a grunt as he flipped himself in the air, allowing him to land on his feet instead of on his back or side.

Taking the opportunity offered the Hollow slithered after Ichigo, claws like knives poised to strike. Ichigo chose to strike first, lashing out with his Zanpaktou. The Hollow ducked under the horizontal swing and slammed its head into Ichigo's body, sending the unprepared Soul Reaper flying.

Intent on turning the thing who would keep it from Orihime into a bloody paste the Hollow followed the headbutt up with a swing of its tail. In a show of speed that betrayed just how much the blade weighed Ichigo lifted his Zanpoktou and with a quick swing the Hollow was now missing a portion of its tail.

Before Ichigo could capitalize on the opening offered by the pain a voice rang out through the night, "SORA-NII!"

Both Soul Reaper and Hollow turned to see a distraught Orihime, tears trailing down her face. As the young teen slowly made her way to where the previously fighting combatants stood silence engulfed the night. No one moved an inch or even dared to breathe as Orihime stopped and stared straight into the bright yellow eyes of the Hollow.

Cupping the cheeks of the Hollow mask Orihime asked in a broken voice, "Why? Why are you doing this Sora-nii?"

Rage ignited inside of the Hollow and despite the claws that were no wrapped tightly around her body Orihime made no move to show any signs of pain or backing down, continuing to gaze into the angry eyes of what had once been her elder brother.

**"You began to forget about me. I saw you. After I died you would always make time to pray to the shrine of me and it made me happy knowing my sister would never forget about me...but...then THEY came!"**

Ichigo gripped his sword tightly as the Hollow turned its heated gaze on him.

**"I watched as you slowly began to stop praying and eventually stopped altogether. Instead I saw how I was replaced with that brat and that girl."**

Orihime smiled, a gesture full of sadness and regret, "Nii-san I'm sorry. I never meant to make you think I forgot about you. How could I? For years you were the one who raised me and kept me safe. But you have to stop this. I won't let you hurt my friends anymore."

**"But why!? Why are they so important to you!?" **The Hollow raged.

It was at this time that Ichigo chose to voice his own thoughts, "Because of what you taught her. She took the lessons you taught her to heart and now she's found friends and people that she cares about, but that doesn't mean we replaced you. No one can ever do that Sora."

**"Ichi...**Ichigo," spoke a now calmer Hollow.

Turning human eyes to Ichigo the Hollow of Sora spoke, "I remember. I asked you to take care of Hime for me, because I saw it. Who else could I ask to look after her than someone who understood what it meant to be an older brother."

The once frightening visage of a porcelain white mask began to fade into dust, revealing a sombre faced Sora.

"I'm...I'm sorry for what I've done. I never meant to hurt you like this Hime. I..I failed you as an older brother."

Orihime choked back a sob as she wrapped her arms around the much larger form of her brother.

"Sora-nii it's not your fault. You weren't you."

Sora returned the hug with one large arm, wrapping Orihime's smaller frame in his much larger one.

For a moment neither spoke, merely enjoying a gesture and feeling they hadn't felt in many years. The love of a sibling.

A new determination in his eyes Sora turned his eyes on Ichigo.

"Ichigo I've already asked you to do so much for me and Orihime, but I have one last request." Noting Ichigo's ascent Sora continued, "Take that sword and free me from this form. I don't know how much longer I can hold that monster at bay."

If Ichigo was surprised by the request he didn't show it merely nodding his head. Orihime on the other hand flew into a fresh set of tears, "But Sora-!"

The elder Inoue cut her off with a shake of his head, "No Orihime. I can't be around anymore. I lived my life and now it's time to live yours and I want you to live a good one." Sora turned his sights to Ichigo and smiled, "And at least this way I know I'm leaving you in capable hands."

Sora pushed a still crying Orihime away from him before he turned to fully face Ichigo. The two males nodded at each other, unspoken words and feelings being exchanged through the simple gesture.

"Thank you for all that you've done for us, Ichigo."

"I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I just left Orihime alone."

With a sigh Ichigo hefted his Zanpaktou on his shoulder and spared Sora one last look. Seconds later no sound was made as the blade pierced straight through Sora's Hollow body.

"I love you Hime. I'll always be looking over you."

"I love you Sora-nii."

Sora looked skyward and smiled, happy to have gotten the closure he was denied all those years ago. One last look at the crying form of his little sister was all Sora had before his body erupted into minuscule luminescent blue particles of Reishi (Spirit Particles).

Ichigo did not walk to reclaim his fallen sword but instead made his way towards Orihime. In a gesture unlike the Ichigo so many thought they knew, the teen wrapped his arms around the crying girl. Orihime only turned so that her face was buried in the black robes of Ichigo's Soul Reaper outfit.

The sight of the ever scowling Ichigo comforting the bubbly Orihime would have shocked most, but those close to him knew just how much he cared for his friends and family. To him pride and image meant nothing when those he had chosen to protect were in such a state.

And so the two sat there, Orihime crying into the chest of Ichigo until she had run out of tears and fallen asleep, drained from the events of the day.

Ichigo carried sleeping teen to bed before checking on the still unconscious form of Tatsuki. Bringing her back to the now heavily damaged apartment Ichigo turned an inquiring gaze to Rukia.

"So how the hell do you plan on explaining this one?"

Rukia's look turned pensive, seeming to be formulating just such a plan.

"...bear."

Ichigo face palmed.

* * *

Later that night a very sleepy Yuzu was awoken as she saw her brother peek into her and her sister's room.

"Ichi-nii?"

Ichigo smiled and only gestured for the young girl to keep quiet as he crept into the dark room. Yuzu was only further confused, though also happy, when her brother gently kissed her forehead. He did the same to Karin who grunted in her sleep and turned on her back, a smile now on her face.

"I love you Yuzu, Karin," Ichigo whispered.

"Love you too Ichi-nii," Yuzu answered back as she turned to go back to sleep.

With one last look at his twin sisters Ichigo gently closed the door before making his way to his own room.

* * *

In another room Isshin Kurosaki turned to the photo of his wife with a smile on his grizzled face, "If only you could see our boy now Masaki. You'd be so proud of how he's turned out. I know I am."

* * *

"Kurosaki-kun!" The bubbly Orihime greeted.

Ichigo allowed a small smile to appear on his face for a moment as he took in the sight of his friend. Despite the bandages wrapped around her head and those he knew were also wrapped around her abdomen, she seemed even more cheerful than was usual, something he didn't know was possible.

Tatsuki turned and grinned at the approaching teen before delivering a rather painful fist into Ichigo's stomach as he was about to greet the two.

"What the hell was that for Tatsuki!?"

"For being a pervert!"

"The hell do you mean!?"

"I know you're the one who wrapped Orihime's chest bandages!"

Ichigo blushed a bright red as he sputtered to come up with a comeback.

The perverted Keigo decided to make an appearance, "ICHIGOOO! IS IT TRUE!? HAVE YOU FELT THE SOFT FLESH OF THE TWIN GIFTS OF KAMI!?"

The still heavily blushing teen was quick to drive his fist into the face of his perverted and hormonal friend.

The equally perverted lesbian Chizuru also made her presence known by shouting with equal intensity, "MY POOR HIME! SULLIED BY THE FILTHY HANDS OF THAT BRUTE! LET ME CLEANSE YOUR BODY OF ITS IMPURITIES!"

Before Chizuru's eager and grabby hands could get anywhere close to Orihime's chest Tatsuki foot was firmly planted in the red head's face.

"Oh no you don't you damn perv! It's bad enough Ichigo touched Orihime but I am not letting you anywhere near her!"

"Damnit Tatsuki! Stop making it sound like I molested her or something!"

"Well you did!"

"She had bruised ribs! Someone had to properly take care of them!"

"Don't give me that excuse you perv!"

As Ichigo and Tatsuki continued to butt heads and yell at the other the class' teacher walked in and made her presence known, "SHUT THE HELL UP AND SIT DOWN!"

All the students were quick to listen to the pissed off teacher with a ruler.

Ichigo and Tatsuki continued to childishly glare at each other though a blush was still prominent on Ichigo's face. Orihime, who sat only a desk away from Ichigo, was left to quietly blush a red so deep that a cherry would have been jealous.

Meanwhile both Chizuru and Keigo sat quietly crying to themselves as they nursed the wounds they had received.

Throughout all of this Chad sat quietly, pondering the oddness of his friends and just how he had ended up with friends as strange as them. If he didn't know any better it would seem as if he was in some sort of anime or something...

* * *

_'Note to self, do not underestimate weirdos anymore,'_ Ichigo thought to himself as he dodged yet another strike aimed at his head.

After his rather odd if not also somewhat normal day at school he had headed out with Rukia to fulfill his duties. With haste and impatience Ichigo had managed to slay a handful of wandering Hollows as well as performing quite a few Konso's. With Rukia satisfied with the numbers for the day, he and the pint sized Shinigami made their way to Urahara's so Ichigo could get some much needed training.

Of course the oddball shopkeeper had immediately slammed the butt end of his cane into Ichigo's forehead, separating his soul form from his physical body. While his physical body had collapsed there on the floor in a heap, the hit from Urahara's cane had enough force to shove Ichigo down a hidden hatch. Said hatch led hundreds of feet below ground into a sprawling and barren area of rocks.

Before Ichigo could angrily yell at the insane actions of the shopkeeper he had to bring out his Zanpaktou in order to block a slash from said blonde. As it was Ichigo was unable to completely right himself in the air and was harshly slammed into the rocky terrain below.

Urahara continued his onslaught and was on Ichigo in a burst of speed no normal human would be capable of. Any musings on just who and what the man he "affectionately" referred to as Geta-Boshi was were shoved to the recesses of his mind as Ichigo was forced to focus his attention on blocking and dodging the flurry of slashes from Urahara's now revealed Zanpaktou.

"C'mon Ichigo! How are you gonna let an old shopkeeper like me beat you like this?" The grinning Kisuke taunted.

The teen had no room to offer a witty reply as he was too focused on defending himself as best he could. Even with as focused as he was it was clear that Kisuke Urahara was far stronger, faster, and more experienced than the spiky haired Kurosaki as was evident by the various cuts that littered his now torn robes. Only a few of those cuts went much deeper than that, though there were a few that had cut into Ichigo's skin.

Even holding back it was easy to see how casually Urahara was controlling the flow of the battle, a testament to his skill. Admittedly Ichigo was putting up a decent amount of resistance and was quickly improving. His reaction time was becoming quicker and quicker while the speed at which he analyzed and countered Urahara's attacks was increasing.

It was quite shocking to see the teen go from doing all he could to keep space between himself and the crazy shopkeeper to beginning to keep pace with said oddball in the span of an hour or so. It was also interesting to see how resilient the teen was. Despite the numerous cuts and bruises he sported Ichigo kept going, not once backing down from the challenge before him.

With a feint that made it look like Urahara had overextended one of his swings Ichigo grinned, eager to take advantage of the opening and finally deal out an attack or two of his own. As Ichigo raised his Zanpaktou Urahara simply vanished from sight. A crushing blow to his back let Ichigo know where the man had gone.

Too worn out from the impromptu spar Ichigo allowed himself to merely lay on his back and gaze at the artificial sky above. Thanks to his even sharper reaction time Ichigo was able to catch the water bottle Urahara had thrown at him.

Neither spoke for a moment, merely basking in the after glow of the blood pumping exercise. Ichigo had taken part in his fair share of fights, against both thugs and Hollows, but the spar he just had now was both refreshing and enlightening. His previous...bouts were more brawls and even most of the ones with Hollows could be put under that category. However what he had done with Urahara was more of a battle.

Urahara himself moved with the speed and grace of a swordsman and warrior confident in his own prowess, something earned through the trials of a long lived life of battle and training. While Ichigo moved with much less grace and more brute strength he was quick to learn I and soon the two had been sharing in an exchange of blades between two swordsman, one the teacher and the other the apprentice.

With that in mind Ichigo felt at ease asking his question, "Oi Kisuke-sensei. I've heard this voice in my head a couple times during a fight. Is it my Zanpaktou?

If Urahara was shocked by Ichigo's calling him by his name as well as sensei, he did not show it, merely humming in thought, "I would normally say yes however considering the circumstances of how you gained your powers it should not be possible."

"You mean, because these powers are the one's I 'borrowed' from Rukia right?"

_'Kid's perceptive.'_

"In short terms yes. Do you feel comfortable wielding that blade?"

Ichigo took a moment to ponder the question before replying, "Well...yes...and no. Wielding it is pretty easy, but it just doesn't feel completely...right."

"Hmm...well that is because that is not entirely your Zanpoktou. When Rukia transferred her powers over to you it seems she awoke your own latent Shinigami powers. Normally your Zanpoktou spirit would have no troubles communicating with you but it is likely having to fight through Rukia's powers to reach you."

"But...how could I have Shinigami powers already? I mean I'm...human."

Kisuke had to curse himself for underestimating just how perceptive the teen was. He had hoped that the teen would focus on the other parts of his little lecture.

_'Sorry about this Isshin,' _ Urahara inwardly sulked.

"I can not say I know just how you came to posses those powers as they are rare, even in Soul Society. It is likely that you just so happened to be born with a naturally high amount of Reiryokou."

Ichigo narrowed his eyes as he realized that the odd shopkeeper was only feeling a half truth. He also knew that if he was trying so hard to cover something up it was probably for good reason. With a sigh Ichigo let the topic slip, satisfied with the amount of info he had gotten...for now.

Urahara was relieved when Ichigo asked another question that had nothing to do with the previous topic, "So what else are you gonna be teaching me?"

Kisuke took the time to take out his little fan, "Well we just covered Zanjutsu (Art of the Sword) so we should probably start on covering Hoho (Step Method) and Hakudo (White Hits). Kido (Demon/Spirit Arts) would usually be in that list but considering your poor control over your Reiatsu that is currently not an option."

"Uh...Geta-Boshi...the hell are Hoho, Hakudo, and Kido?"

The bucket hat clad blonde laughed, "Right, right forgot you know next to nothing about Shinigami."

Ichigo closed his eyes as he counted to ten to keep himself from an outburst.

"Well Hoho, Hakudo, and Kido are the different branches of the Shinigami style of combat. Hoho is the branch of speed techniques that Shinigami use to get around. The most notable technique in this area is the Shunpo (Flash Step). Hakudo is the hand to hand combatant branch while Kido are spells Shinigami use to attack, defend, or seal."

Ichigo nodded as he absorbed the information, committing it memory.

Urahara continued, "Everyday I will expect to see you here after you've completed school and have run your rounds around the city. We will begin each session with a lecture on whatever it is I plan on teaching you that day. From there I will oversee your training. After that we'll see if you can put what you've learned to use in actual combat. For today get some rest. This week we'll be working on both Zanjutsu and Hakudo."

The orange haired teen stood to his feet and stretched, getting out any kinks left in his body.

"What about controlling my Reiatsu? I mean both you and Rukia have said how terrible I am at controlling it so shouldn't I be learning how to get it under control?"

Kisuke grinned behind his fan at the eagerness of his new apprentice, "Considering how much you have yes we should work on controlling it so that will also be a daily thing and something you will work on even in your spare time."

With a nod to the other Ichigo began the long climb back up the ladder that led back up the store. Urahara meanwhile chose to stay and cast his gaze out at the horizon. Moments later Tessai made himself known, "Urahara-dono?"

After decades of living with each other Kisuke knew that the massive man was asking about his decision to train the young Kurosaki in such a dedicated manner.

"I have a feeling that, that young boy...no man will be the one to right all of the wrongs our generation created. He will shoulder the burden of the wrongs of his elders when the time comes. It is only right that I at least help prepare him for the obstacles that lay ahead."

Tessai nodded, "Then I too will assist where I can."

Urahara grinned, "I wonder if Yoruichi would mind lending a hand as well. After all...she was called the Shunshin (Goddess of Flash) for good reason."

* * *

**AN: **Woo! Finally done! That one was a doozy to write out! Not one of my longest chapters but looking back, one of my better works if I'm being honest.

Usually I breeze through the beginnings of stories so I can get to the "good parts" but I find myself quite enjoying this slower pace. Mind you that my slower pace is covering about what 5ish episodes in the span of 3 chapters?

Honestly there wasn't that much interesting going on. The highlight of the pre-Rescue Rukia arc was Uryuu's Hollow bait fiasco. I'm debating on glossing over the whole bird thing with Chad as it was a meh kind of thing for me. I get that it gives Chad some screen time but still it wasn't all that interesting. Only thing of mild interest to me was the introduction of the Gates of Hell...that was never talked about again until the movie.

Anyways even more alterations to canon abound in this chapter! Hopefully you guys like the changes. Also most will notice that Ichigo is more perceptive as Urahara said as well as being more...open, at least with those he's comfortable with.

Some might be wondering why I gave Orihime such a...lengthy chapter and much closer relationship when she's not the pairing. Honestly? I've grown to like the pairing. But worry not Yoruichi is still going to be the main pairing. Some expressed concern over how I would nail her character down while still having some romance...well...fuck if I know haha. I can only hope that I do her justice! I by no means want to do to her what Team Ninja did to Samus in Metroid Other M. For those not game savvy...they took the kickass, powerful, and sexy bounty hunter Samus Aran and turned her into a whiny and overly dependent monotone sex symbol...which is terrible.

Yoruichi is much the same in that she is plenty kickass, a tease, independent, and just a great fucking character. I refuse to change any of that. Again hopefully I'll be able to make their relationship believable. And no I'm not gonna rush it to where they meet and their instantly playing tonsil hockey. Not how I roll.

As for the mod soul thing. I'm debating. Kon was cool for the occasional sex joke or comedy relief...and that's about it. I don't know if I wanna keep him or just get a regular mod soul that does as it's supposed to. I'm open to opinions so let me know what you guys think.

Also I'd like to remind you guys about the talented Rayden Cybersoul from my opening AN. I highly recommend you guys go check him out.

Hope to see more reviews for this chapter!

Until next time!

Peace!


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